


Favors

by miss_aligned



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mass Effect 1, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 10:18:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7636369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_aligned/pseuds/miss_aligned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seeing the Consort was never something that Shepard really wanted to do, but it happens anyway... much to her team's discomfort.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Favors

“I’m very sorry, your companions will have to remain out here. Sha’ira requested your presence alone.”

“Oh,” Shepard responded, casting a glance over her shoulder at her teammates. Ashley rolled her eyes. Kaidan stared at the door like he was afraid of what might be on the other side. “I suppose that’s… fine…”

“Are you sure about this, Commander?” Kaidan asked as he stepped up beside her. “I’d be willing to bet that they’d give you some sort of Spectre-pass if you said the word. Or maybe she’d agree to come out here.”

“I’ll be okay, Lieutenant. I’ll let you know if I need anything,” she said patting him reassuringly on the shoulder. “I’m sure I can take care of myself.”

He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and back again. “Of course, Ma’am. I didn’t mean to suggest that you couldn’t--”

“Sha’ira is waiting for you just inside,” the asari assistant reminded her with a fluid wave of her arm in the direction of the door.

Shepard nodded and stepped forward, not intending to waste the chance she’d mysteriously been given to speak to the apparently infamous Consort of the Citadel. She might not have had the same reasons for being there as many of the people she’d seen in the lobby, but that made her all the more hopeful that this little visit would go quickly. She wasn’t entirely convinced that she wanted to know what sort of activities Sha’ira preferred to partake in with her clients. It wasn’t any of her business, and, truthfully, ignorance was bliss.

As the door slid open to allow her access, she couldn’t help but react to her lieutenant’s concern. He was shockingly observant and aware in most situations, and if this made him so uneasy, she wondered if she should be as well. She wasn’t sure what might be found inside, and a trap or an ambush definitely weren’t out of the question.

What Shepard encountered, however, was a thankfully-mostly-clothed asari. Other than a lack of recognition for personal space and an unusual manner of speech, the Commander certainly couldn’t count it as an completely unpleasant experience. Strange? Yes. Dangerous? No.

Upon exiting the Consort’s chambers, Shepard was left a little confused, but no worse for wear. She didn’t understand exactly what made Sha’ira so popular with everyone on the Citadel, but that hardly mattered. There was work to do and a war to stop.

She rounded the corner and caught sight of her teammates sitting on a couch, apart from the Consort’s other patrons. Ashley had her arms and legs crossed, effectively closing herself off from the situation as Shepard might have expected. Kaidan, too, seemed less than thrilled with the wait, though he was passing the time by having a conversation with an asari acolyte. She, however, seemed overly interested, leaning forward and even resting a hand on his knee as she laughed. His eyes went wide as he glanced in the commander’s direction, and abruptly jumped out of his seat when he locked eyes with her.

Shepard paused for a moment. She hadn’t expected him to make friends with the staff here so quickly. It shouldn’t have been surprising, really, as he was a nice guy. A very nice guy. In that moment a little flame of anger at the acolytes sparked deep down for preying upon him so quickly, but she pushed it down. Kaidan was a grown man. He could, undoubtedly, make his own choices and take care of himself. If he couldn’t, he wouldn’t be among her crew. “Getting comfortable?”

“Hardly,” came Ashley’s flat reply.

“Uh. No,” Kaidan began, quickly glancing down at the asari beside him, probably realizing that he might have offended her. “I mean yes. I mean… I’m sorry, we’ve got to go.” He offered her a rather awkward handshake as he stepped up beside his commanding officer.

As they stepped out into the Presidium once more, it was Ashley who spoke up first, curiosity clearly getting the better of her. “Sooo… how was she?”

“The whole thing was strange, really,” Shepard answered. “She’s disturbingly confident and well connected, it seems. She needed me to do something for her, and I’m guessing that having her support will be better than not. I’ll check it out, if nothing else.”

“So that’s why you got to bypass the ridiculous waiting list?” Kaidan asked.

“I guess. Now I’m supposed to talk to someone at Chora’s Den.”

“A high-end prostitute is sending us to a strip club? Great.” Ashley laughed.

“She didn’t do anything else? Say anything else?” There was a tinge of something that Shepard couldn’t quite identify in Kaidan’s tone as he inquired. Concern? Suspicion? Irritation? She couldn’t be sure.

“I asked her about her work, how she helps people, but it wasn’t really any clearer than what the acolytes had said. She asked for help and that’s it. A little more touchy-feely than I would prefer, but pretty harmless.”

“What?” Kaidan’s response was sharp, unexpected. Even he seemed shocked by it as he turned away, with his cheeks reddening in the process.

“I think that’s just how they work,” Shepard continued, a slight flush working its way across her own face randomly as she recalled the sight when she’d returned to the lobby. “You were talking to that acolyte. You know.”

“Yeah…” Kaidan sheepishly answered, his entire face bright red now. “I still think she should have come out to talk to us or let you take your team. It’s not like it was a typical scheduled appointment… right?”

All in a moment, Shepard was struck with understanding about what was happening. It made her feel a little uneasy, but that couldn’t be helped. He had wanted to know about how and why she’d gotten around the astronomical wait to talk to Sha’ira. He’d been very curious about what happened when they’d parted ways, even so briefly. He still wanted to be there when Shepard saw the Consort again. It made sense now. The thought of it made her sick, but she hadn’t any idea why. “After we do this task for her, I’m sure she’d be willing to set up an appointment for you. Maybe we can get you in sooner than three or four months.”

“What? For… for me?” Kaidan was wide-eyed and stammering now. He must have been surprised to have been figured out. He couldn’t really have thought that his odd behavior had gone unnoticed, could he?

Shepard came to a halt and looked him squarely in the eyes. She swallowed hard. “It’s okay, you know. It’s not a big deal. Lots of people rave about her, after all.”

“N--no. No, Commander. I don’t want any part of that,” he vehemently responded.

A slight furrow of her brow as she looked at him signaled her confusion. She was offering him what he clearly wanted, and he refused to take her up on it. She realized, yet again, that she’d never met any man like Kaidan before.

Her internal reflection was interrupted by the amused snort of her Gunnery Chief. “With all due respect,” Ashley began, her dark gaze drifting between her two fellow soldiers. “I want to smack both of you.”

Shepard and Kaidan both stared at her in disbelief, each obviously trying to figure out why she might have said such a thing, and neither coming up with an answer. They remained silent and red-faced.

Ashley waved them on and began walking, a broad smirk sweeping across her lips as she did so. “We’ve got a strip club to invade. Let’s go.”


End file.
